Method of recovering hydrocarbon oils from oil sands and the like



Nov. 23 1926. 1,607,977

H. H. ARMSTRONG METHOD OF RECOVERING HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL SANDS ANDTHE LIKE Filed May 15, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m vnvrokl jfarry ll: flfmsi0 2% /27772 Nov. 23 1926.

H. H. ARMSTRONG METHOD OF REGOVERING HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL SANDS ANDTHE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F1 led May 15, 1922 //v v/v TOR I Hi rig/HA4(44 OR/YEV,

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Patented Nov. 23, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

manta. .amasrnone, or nosnnonms, curronnm.

manner or nncovnnnm mnocaanon orrs mom on. sums AND THE LIKE.

Application and m 15, 1922. 7 serial .llo/ 561,171.

This invention relates to a process for recovering the oil from oilbearing mineral troleum oil, exists in sand, sandstone, limevaluablefractions from the oil of the formations in an economical manner.

It is well known that oil, particular] petroleum oil, exists insaid,'sandstone, stone, and saturates the surface of the ground whereithas seeped or has been allowed to l flow from an unchecked source, asin the instance of oil well sumps, etc. Also shales contain both freeand consolidated oils. The term oil sands is used in this specification.to designate partially or completely saturated mineral formations.

The object of this invention is to provide a process for treatin oilsands, oil shales, etc.-, whereby the oil may be economically separatedor derived from the sand and shale, and if advisable, can at the sametime, be separated and fractionated into its more valuable constituents.These andot-her objects will hereinafter be more fully and ob-.

-viou sly described."

The figures of the drawingsillustrate more or less diagrammatically anapparatus that may be used for'carrying out my improved process.

e present invention consists generally 80 of separating oil from oilsands y a rocess that does not necessarily require eat, button the otherhand, if heat is employed "for certain ades and to extract certainfractions, it is not of sufficient temperature to cause excess cracking.The separation-is.

accomplished by bringing gas containing percentages of condensablenatural hydrocarbon vapors vinto intimate contact with the oil sand. .Inthe place of the above 40 gas, which may be natural gas or the like,condensable natural vapors, in vapor or atomized form,- may be used. Idesignate the gas, coudensable natural vapors, etc., by.

the word gas. The sandsmay be'treated with the gas either when cooled,or at atmospheric temperatures, or when heated. Many condens'ablenatural vapors, such as butane, 0,11 may be employed instead of mixedgasessuch as casing-head or natural gas contammg asohpe vapors. Theproc,e m y be a i te hen r g grades of'oil sand by the heating of the sanditself or the gas, or both.

In some cases it is advantageous to employ steam to hasten theseparation of the oil and the condensable natural products when heat isemployed.

Under some conditionsalso, it is found to be more economically vvaluableto operate the process under a vacuum,'thereby lowering the boilingpoints of the various vapors of oil and its lighter fractions. 7

I employ the use Qfavapors-because it is obvious that thisfmm presentsthe greatest densable natural hydrocarbon vapor or liq; V

uid hydro-carbon solvent may be employe "The vapor or liquid may beheated before applying it to the mixture or to the shale. Thevapor-treated material or the submerged and saturated material as abovede scribed. will, because of the uniform covering of hot vapor or hotliquid solvent, have .a greater tendency to give up a superior product.Oil separated or extracted from the mixture of oil sand and oil shale oroil shale alone will be of greater volume and of very superior qualityto that which is separated or extracted by the ordinary retort methods.A solvent separated or extracted from the mixture of oil sand and oilshale or from oil shale itself has decided advantages over any otherunrelated solvents from other oil sources.

In order to render the operation of the process clear, I' append twodrawings in whichthe complete apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the feed valver i Fig. 3 is ansectional view illustratxng a portion 0 the treating chamber. Fig 4 ionsimilar enlarged sectional view illustrating'the lower portion of saidtreatmg cham r 'Fig. 1 is. a semi diagrammatic view of Referring to Fig.1, it will be noted that the apparatus, as shown, permits of acontinuous operation under all conditions described. I

Oil sand, shale, etc., in granulated form is placed in hopper 1, fromwhich hopper it passes through cylinder valve 2 and on to perforatedscreen conveyor 3 at point 3. This conveyor, 3 gradually spreads out thesand in treating chamber 5 b reason of its turning action caused by puley this action carrying the oil sand down counter current to the gaswhich enters the bottom-of chamber 5 through screened port 41.Theconveyor is inclined slightly from the outer edge toward the bearingcylinder 6.

The gas passing up through the granulated oil sand comes into intimatecontact with the oil, which absorbs or commingles with the gas. Theviscosity of the oil is rapidly lowered and the B. gravity is raised,rendering it much more liquid and thereby more easily separable from thesand. By starting the oil sand down through the treater at 3 and shortlythere after turning the gas in at port 41, the oil rapidly becomes moreliquid and fiows by gravity down through the screened holes 54 andthrough discharge 6 through valve 7 into storage 13 through pipe 6. Ifadvisable.v and providing a small. amount of oil still remains in thesand after it passes through cylinder valve 8 into separating chamber'9,water can be injected through pipe to float ott such residue oil throughdischarge '12. intermittently as required.

The sand residue is removed from the chamber 9 by a conveyor 10 drivenby a suitable means, as indicated at 10 said sand being discharged at11. It may at times be found advantageous to inject some additional oilwith the oil sand at 3, thereby hasten ng the absorption of the gas andthe consequent liquetying and flowing qualities of the oil. This may bedone bypumping oil from storage 13, through pipe 4, with pump l5,-intooil supply tank 37, through pipe 18. The oil gravitates from tank i?through pipe 19 and into intake 3, as shown. if desired, a liquidsolvent may be supplied to the material to be treated through the pipe18.

When heat is used. the sand or shale is :ted into treater 5 as firstdescribed, from hopper l and on to conveyor The treating chamber isheated by burner 49, which extends through insulated wall into chamber51, tangentially. This burner 49 is supplied with a gear from the pipe16 and is thermostatically controlled by valve 48 and its connectedthermostat 26, shown in preheating chamber 26. The gas supplied by thepipe-46 will be a gas containing a relatively high percentage of naturalhydrocarbon vapors or it may be relatively pure butane or propane- Thestack gases pass outof furnace 51 on through the preheating chamber 26,in which the heating of vapor coils 21 and 24: takes place. The stackgases escape from stack 27 to the atmosphere, as shown.

The oil sand being heated as above de scribed, is then treated with gas,which gas may be heated, the same gas being injected through portal,this gas comes through valve .27 and pipe 23 through preheated coil 24,and through supply pipe 37,

valve 40 and port 41. The entire apparatus may be held under higher thanatmospheric pressure, or under atmospheric pressure, or under a vacuum.The latter is preferable in most cases. A vacuum may be maintained bydrawing on vapor line 20-22, through pipe 28 and condenser 29, throughstorage tank 30 and pipe 31, to the suction ofcompressor 32. Under theabove conditions the oil in the heated sands will rapidly vaporize inthe presence of the gas, and the gas as 'a carrier will pass out withthe gases under pressure pass through condenser 33 and are partly orentirely condensed into an expanded liquid. This liquid is usually ahydrocarbon of high B. gravity and in some cases is what may be termed aliquefied gas, such as butane, 0 H, which has a B. gravity of about 110deg. A gas of this character can be expanded, and because of its latentheat of evaporization is valuable for refrigerating purposes.

By intermittently operating the plant at atmospheric temperatures andthen under heat, a liquified gas of the above hind can be utilizedthrough pipe 36 and injected into the treater through port 4:1 insteadof the ordinary gas supply. By expanding the liquefied gas with theabove qualities through the oil sand in treater 5, the refrigeratingaction greatly hastens the absorption of the liquefied gas by the oil inthe sand, and it assists subsequent liquefying or the oil verymaterially. In other words the raising in gravity and the lowering ofviscosity is more rapidly accomplished.

The use of a liquefied gas reduces the necessary quantity of vapors tobe handled through the condensing and. compressing apparatus, because ofthe fact that it can be entirely liquefied and no residue gas passesout. In some instances it may be desir able that the gas passing fromthe treating chamber at 20 be recirculated through said chamber one ormore times at certain intervals and this may be done by suitablyoperating the required valves to cause said gas and steam line 44. Steammay thus beused liquid to flow and injected through a control valve 42and into port 41 in order to soften the oil sand. The steam may bepassed into the oil sand after the gas, with it or before the gas isused. If heat is used in addition to the steam and gas the entirequantity of resultant vapors will pass out and be liquefied in thecondensing apparatus as shown. Fig. 2 shown the feed and dischargevalves 2 and 8. Fig. '3' shows a section of the treater 5. Screenedports 54 allow the separated into discharge pipe 6. Holes 53 ermit thegas to pass into the sands an through them.

Fig. 4 shows the discharges for sand and liquid and intake port 41,covered by screen cap 60, for-injecting the gas, steam, etc. Bearingshafts 59 and rollers carrying raised bumps '58 show how the cylinder ,6and its conveyor 3 is agitated. Discharge ort allows the separatedliquid to flow into pipe 6 protected bycap 56.

\Vhat is claimed is: I

1. The method of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in subjecting the sand to butane, C H gas, and separating theoil, which absorbs said-gas, from the sand. V

2. The method of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in sub. jecting the sand to a liquefiable natural hydrocarbongas, and separatingthe oil, which absorbs said gas, from said sand bygravity.

3. The method of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in subgas, and

jecting the sand to butane, (LH

separating, by gravity, the oil, which absorbs said gas, from said sand.

4. The method of separating the. oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in spreading out the sand, subjecting the sand 1 to aliquefiable .natural hydrocarbon gas,

and separating the oil, which absorbs said gas, fro'msald sand. I

5. The 'ethod. of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in spreading outthe sand, passing a liquefiable natural hdrocarbon gas through the spread said. an separating the oil, whichabsorbs said gas, from said sand.

6. The method of separating the oil from sand to all oil sands and thelike which consists in spreading out the sand, subjecting the spreadsand to a li uefiable natural hydrocarbon gas, butane, H and separatingthe oil, which absorbs said gas, from said sand.

7. The method 0 separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in spreading out the sand, passing a liquefiable natural,hydrocarbon gas, through the spread sand, and separating the oil, whichabsorbs said gas, from the sand.

8. The method of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in spreading out the sand, subjecting the sand to a liquefiablenatural hydrocarbon gas, and

gas, butane 'from said sand which absorbs said gas,

by gravity.

11. The method of separating the oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists 1n spreading out the sand, passing a liquefiable naturalhydrocarbon 1 gas, butane 0,11 through the spread sand, and separatingthe oil, which absorbs said gas, by gravity. 12. The method ofseparating the oil from oil sands, which consists in subjecting the sandto a liquefiable natural hydrocarbon gas under pressure higher thanatmospheric,

and separating the oil, which absorbs said gas, from the sand.

from the sand butane (LH 13. The method of separating the oil from oilsands, which consists in subjecting the sand to a liquefiable naturalhydrocarbon gas, butane CJI under pressure higher than atmos heric,which absor s said gas, from the sand.

14. The method of separating oil from oil sands and the like whichconsists in treating a mixture of oil sand and shale with a liquefiablenatural hydrocarbon gas, and

separatin the oil, which absorbs the gas, from sai mixture.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing and separating the oil,'

as my own, have hereto aflixed my signature.

HARRY H. ARMSTRONG.

